After three successive Bundesliga wins, Borussia Dortmund suffered a 2-0 defeat against Wolfsburg on Tuesday night. Come Wednesday morning, BVB could find themselves six points behind Bayern Munich should Julian Nagelsmann’s side beat Werder Bremen on Tuesday night. Edin Terzic will be displeased after he wanted six points from their final two Bundesliga games of 2022.
It was another goal conceded from a set piece, Wolfsburg’s Mickey van de Ven found himself unmarked at the far post from a corner to poke to ball past Gregor Kobel. Lukas Nmecha added a second in stoppage time but was it not for the Kobel, Borussia Dortmund could well have found themselves losing by a larger margin. Wolfsburg underperformed in their xG but their win tonight now means they’re unbeaten in eight across all competitions. Niko Kovac’s side also have three clean sheets in their last three Bundesliga games.
Wolfsburg vs Borussia Dortmund Player Ratings
Wolfsburg – 2 (Van de Ven, Nmecha)
Koen Casteels, 7
Ridle Baku, 6
Sebastiaan Bornauw, 6
Mickey van de Ven, 8 – Has been ever-present for Wolfsburg in defence this season and is emerging as one of VfL’s key defensive players. The Dutchman covered left-back earlier in the season in the absence of Otávio and Roussillon but since switching to central-defence, has kept Maxence Lacroix out of the starting XI. Reads the game, wins his 1v1 duels and also excellent in aerially. Opened the scoring for Wolfsburg, unmarked at the far post.
Paulo Otávio, 6
Max Arnold, 8 – Alongside Van de Ven, Wolfsburg’s best player on the night. 53 touches, 80% pass accuracy and three key passes. Won five of his seven ground duels, excellent defensively and also provided a threat driving forward. Could well find himself in Hansi Flick’s Germany squad.
Yannick Gerhardt, 7
Jakub Kamiński, 5
Felix Nmecha, 6
Omar Marmoush, 7 – For someone who came close to leaving Wolfsburg in the summer, Omar Marmoush has been excellent. Moves into the channels from the left-flank and provided an attacking threat whilst carrying out his defensive duties. Forced Gregor Kobel into an excellent save.
Jonas Wind, 6
Others: Patrick Wimmer (6), Lukas Nmecha (6), Jerome Roussillon (-), Mattias Svanberg (-).
Borussia Dortmund – 0
Gregor Kobel, 7
Niklas Süle, 7 – Always looked to get forward when the opportunity arose and Borussia Dortmund’s best defensive player. 68 touches, 87% pass accuracy, one key pass and almost equalised for BVB, his effort coming back off the post. Perhaps he could be Hansi Flick’s answer to Germany’s right-back problem at the World Cup.
Mats Hummels, 6
Nico Schlotterbeck, 5
Raphaël Guerreiro, 5
Salih Özcan, 4
Jude Bellingham, 5
Karim Adeyemi, 3 – Is yet to score in the Bundesliga this season since his move from RB Salzburg and again struggled. Never looked like creating anything in the final third, BVB not playing to his strengths. Managed just 61 minutes and looked tired. Lost possession seven times.
Julian Brandt, 4
Donyell Malen, 5
Youssoufa Moukoko, 5
Others: Gio Reyna (6), Thorgan Hazard, (5), Anthony Modeste (-), Marco Pasalic (-)
GGFN | Daniel Pinder
